With commentary from the judges
The Double Amphibrach
My favorite mug was
destroyed by frustration,
it shattered upon the
linoleum floor.
Assailed by regret and
decertification,
“The Number One Grandpa,”
I cried, “Nevermore!”
Not bad, but I feel like I’ve seen that dismount before…
The Villanelle
It keeps the spirit mean,
It warms and cools the air,
The glow of burning dreams.
With madness in its streams
Of smoke and icy glare,
It keeps the spirit mean.
Outside of sleep’s trite scenes,
I saw her die in there,
The glow of burning dreams.
A fading, waking scream,
Like ash in curly hair
It keeps the spirit mean.
Ignoring things unseen
Is helpless to repair
The glow of burning dreams.
Condemned to live between
Rebirth and choked despair,
It keeps the spirit mean,
The glow of burning dreams.
It’s sad, but not “boo-hoo” sad. Like when my turtle died in that fire.
The Sestina
On the day that I wore two hats,
I was approached by a woman.
In fact, I was approached by many things,
For my omni-magnetic powers were amplified
By the tower of fedoras on my head.
This was a discovery with consequences.
The foremost of these consequences
Resulting from my experiment with many hats
Was that the center of attraction was my head,
And to my head directly flew the woman,
Along with the rest of the world, which amplified
My already crippling claustrophobia and fear of metal things.
Flying fastest toward me were the metal things,
Which is the next most prominent of the consequences.
Clangs and thumps were the sounds of my pain and confusion amplified,
And I struggled in vain to remove my hats,
But my arms were completely entangled with the woman
Whose initial surprise had given way to a fascination with my head.
Perhaps it was the successive concussions to my head,
But I began to get some crazy ideas about crazy things.
“Perhaps this means I should marry this woman!”
I thought, despite the obvious consequences
Of loving a woman who is only with you because of your hats.
Nevertheless, I found my heart elated and our rapport amplified.
Oh how we talked, and despite the amplified
Danger of ignoring the severe injuries to my head,
I donned more and more hats.
This meant I would be pelted by even more things,
At higher velocities, but damn the consequences!
It was worth it to become closer to this woman.
It was only a matter of time before another woman
Came careening into the picture; the urgency of the situation amplified
By the large number of pointy objects now encasing me. The consequences
Of this are obvious: numerous impalements as the new woman flew toward my head.
My true love and I, a makeshift porcupine, could no longer bear these things;
We squirmed our way out from under the damning hats.
Free of the hats, I lost the woman.
She took all my things, which amplified my heartbreak.
So beware: greedily adorning ones head can lead to unforeseen consequences.
Writing a good sestina is fuckin’ hard, man
